An F-16 jet fighter from the Air Force’s “Thunderbirds” flight demonstration team lost power and crashed into the desert about 120 miles west of Las Vegas last year because of misaligned fan blades in the engine, according to a recently released Air Force investigation into the mishap.
The pilot of the F-16CM Fighting Falcon jet sustained minor injuries in the Dec. 3, 2025, crash near Trona, California. It resulted in the complete loss of the $33.4 million aircraft.
There were no reports of other injuries or damage to civilian property, officials with Air Force Combat Command said last week.
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The crash happened during what Air Force officials said was a routine Thunderbird training mission at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. They were practicing a vertical loop followed by a barrel roll when the pilot reported that it felt like the jet suddenly stopped, according to the report.
The pilot climbed in an attempt to trade airspeed for altitude to divert to the nearby Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, located in the Mojave Desert about 150 miles north of Los Angeles. But the engine didn’t produce enough thrust to maintain airspeed in level flight.
The pilot reported that “it sounded like things were grinding” in the engine, according to the crash report.
The pilot eventually ejected about four minutes after reporting a loss of thrust in the engine.
Investigators determined that the leading cause of the crash was three turned compressor blades, identified as vanes, that caused an irregular airflow in the engine.
“As a result, one 5th stage compressor blade and one 6th stage compressor blade failed due to high cycle fatigue and separated during flight, causing catastrophic engine damage and a significant loss of thrust, thereby making sustained flight impossible,” the report stated. “Evidence was insufficient to conclusively determine the cause of the turned vanes.”
The Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy’s Blue Angels are the nation’s preeminent flight demonstration teams. Both teams are composed of highly experienced aviators, including those with combat experience, at the top of their game.
But there have been accidents in the past, even deadly ones.
Air Force Maj. Stephen Del Bagno was killed in April 2018 when his F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed during a routine Thunderbirds’ training mission over the Nevada desert. The accident report determined that he experienced a high-G loss of consciousness, known as a G-LOC, during an inverted maneuver.
His death was the only fatality involving either a Thunderbird or Blue Angels team member during the past decade.
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